


Sign 05: He 'just likes you a lot'

by TerresDeBrume



Series: Signs he's a keeper [7]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Grief/Mourning, I'm sorry I know I promised there would be no angst but I swear it's really light, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-11
Updated: 2013-03-11
Packaged: 2017-12-05 01:16:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/717191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerresDeBrume/pseuds/TerresDeBrume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The good point with Tony being an overgrown child is that when Fenrir asks perfectly innocent question, Tony can think of a simple answer where Loki can’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sign 05: He 'just likes you a lot'

On the twenty-first of July, less than two weeks after Fenrir’s birthday -and a gigantic angst crisis on both their parts- Loki takes Fenrir to Breezy point.  
He doesn’t plan on bringing Tony along. It’s just that he shows up at the door with pie just as they were leaving, and Fenrir insisted he had to come, even when Loki pointed out Tony didn’t even meet Angrboda… so here they are on a sunny afternoon, standing on the seaside with candles in wooden bowls. The wind is reasonably low, the water calm, and Loki feels… well. Better than he thought he would.  
  
“Mamma dies,” Fenrir tells Tony in a quiet tone. “We put candle for Mamma, to know we love her.”  
  
Tony nods and looks to Loki who shrugs… what else is there to do? Angrboda was one of his best friends. He’d known her for almost as long as Sigyn, and losing her hurt, yes. But let’s be honest: they hadn’t seen each others in two years, and most of their interaction were held over the internet. It’s difficult sometimes to remind himself that she’s dead, and not just having computer problems. Honestly, if it were just him, he’d just stay in the delusion forever… but then, Fenrir needs to understand why his mother is not coming back. Hence this, just now.  
  
“I was on a business trip when she died,” Loki tells Tony while Fenrir folds the drawing his made for his mother, smearing sand all over it. “By the time they contacted me and I flew in, they were already done with the ceremonies, and she’d been burned. I wish I could have been there. I guess this thing with the candles isn’t just for Fenrir.”  
  
Fenrir, who is presently crouched over his candle, whispering to it with urgency seeping into his words, and that makes Loki’s throat clench, his fist tighten. Fenrir shouldn’t have to go through that. He shouldn’t have to be here, dressed all in black for the anniversary of his mother’s death, in a country he needed months to get used to, speaking a tongue most people here regard as unusual, sometimes even weird.  
It’s not fair.  
  
“Hey,” Loki says as he crouches down next to his son, “ _are you talking to Mamma?_  
“ _So she knows I love her,_ ” Fenrir answers in a small voice. “ _And I’m nice with you._ ”  
“ _You are,_ ” Loki agrees. “ _You’re very nice and I love you._ ”  
“ _Tony love me, too?_ ”  
  
Loki can’t help it: even though he knows Tony doesn’t understand Icelandic, he turns to him with what he knows is a questioning look… and surprise of surprise, Tony doesn’t even look puzzled. He smile, tired but warm, and crouches next to Loki, putting a hand on Fenrir’s back and causing the boy to turn around.  
  
“You don’t die,” Fenrir tells him with all the serious a kid his age can muster. “You don’t die.”  
  
There are tears in Loki’s eyes as he holds his son close to his chest, kissing the top of his head with an affection he used to think he couldn’t feel. There’s been a phone call from Thor this morning, very early on, to wish them courage. He said Frigga sent her well-wishes as well, and Loki’s chest still aches with the complete silence coming from Odin… Thirty he may be, but it apparently doesn’t mean he’s stopped caring about his father being a dick.  
  
“I won’t die,” Tony says, rubbing Fenrir’s shoulder, “Pinky swear.”  
  
He has to show Fenrir how to do it, but it still seems to satisfy the kid, and Loki feels relieved just from that, enough so that he leans into Tony’s touch when the other man puts a hand on the back of his neck… Loki had to promise not to die five times today, and it makes his hear ache every time.  
  
“Shall we send the candles now?” Loki asks, and Fenrir nods against his chest.  
  
Loki doesn’t really pray anymore -he stopped a long time ago, though he wouldn’t be able to determine whether the catalyst whas his sexuality or the fact that he likes to wear dresses. Regardless, faith as an institution doesn’t feel comfortable or welcoming to him anymore and he keeps to more personal rites now, defining himself as an agnostic. Angrboda, however, raised Fenrir in a fairly traditional environment, including prayers, and Loki has been trying to maintain some of that for now, respecting the evening prayer and a few other traditions.  
His recitation is hesitant, at best, but Loki still manages to finish his prayer, Fenrir echoing his words with tears in his eyes as they watch the lit candles float away in their wooden bowls.  
  
“The sea will take them to Mamma,” Fenrir explains once they are back in the car. “The water goes back to Iceland from here, so Mamma will see them and be happy in heaven.”  
  
Tony nods with the air of someone who is well educated in the matter of prayers circulation, and even turns back to shake Fenrir’s hand and compliments him on his dedication. It’s not much, and it doesn’t stop Fenrir from crying again when they reach the apartment.  
  
“Why don’t we get some ice cream?” Loki asks. “We still have peppermint left, I think.”  
  
Fenrir nods and sits himself at the kitchen table while Loki gets the carton and three teaspoons out.  
When he straightens up, Tony is standing right next to him, warm and solid and, okay, Loki probably needed him there a lot more than he was ready to admit. It’s part frightening, and part natural, and he doesn’t know what that means for him in the near future, but he’s still glad he’s not left to deal with today alone.  
  
Without warning, Tony stands up on tiptoes and his lips are on Loki’s, warm and surprisingly non-sexual, considering their history… the only time they kissed like that before was on New Year’s Eve, barely hours after they met and quite possibly the closest thing to romantic their relationship has ever been.  
That, however, doesn’t prevent Loki from leaning into the kiss for a moment, welcoming the warmth of it on his lips, the anchoring feeling of Tony’s hands on his hips, the sudden calm washing over him. In that moment, there’s nothing around them, nothing but a kiss and warm hands over a black shirt.  
  
“Pabbi,” Fenrir asks, breaking into their moment, “Why are you kissing?”  
  
Tony falls back to the ground with a dull thud and Loki turns toward Fenrir, ice cream still in his hands and freezing the tip of his fingers as he tries to find something to answer and can only come up with a blank.  
  
“I just like your Dad a lot,” Tony says.  
“This much?” Fenrir asks, spreading his arms as far as they’ll go.  
“Yeah,” Tony says, throwing a mischievous look in Loki’s direction, “at least.”  
“I love Pabbi too,” Fenrir says. Then, as nobody moves, he points to Loki and makes grabby motions with his hands: “Ice cream now!”  
  
Loki quite literally shakes himself out of his surprise and sits down at the table, pushing his questions aside for the time being. He’ll have all the time for awkward conversations later on. For now, he’s just happy today ends on a positive note.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and reviews are always appreciated, both here or, if you'd like to remain anonymous, [on Tumblr](http://terresdebrumestories.tumblr.com/ask) <3


End file.
